


Incommunicado

by SaraJaye



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Alternate Universe - Noir, Angst, Communication Failure, F/F, Murder Mystery, Offscreen character death, Past Relationship(s), Relationship Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 02:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13870932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Someone's been murdered and the most likely suspect has skipped town. They don't have time to deal with their relationship issues.





	Incommunicado

**Author's Note:**

  * For [margalo_streussal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/margalo_streussal/gifts).



The mysterious death of one Akio Ohtori, the disappearance of his frail younger sister, and the fire at the academy all seemingly point to one Utena Tenjou, but Juri Arisugawa is not quite convinced. She's never fully trusted Tenjou, who breezed into the city just weeks ago with no explanation, but nothing about her indicates a criminal.

Tenjou's disappeared, too, and Juri's been tasked with finding her. Simple enough, but this morning her ex-partner arrived on her doorstep, carrying an umbrella and asking if she could assist her.

It's been two years since Juri last spoke to Shiori Takatsuki. An ugly falling-out in which Shiori quit the detective agency to strike out on her own, and neither one bothered to contact the other since. Juri had done her best to forget Shiori and move on, but now here they are, combing the rainy city streets in search of any clues leading them to Tenjou.

Shiori is quiet, and not just because they haven't found anything. Quiet and melancholy, but almost _clingy._ She stays close to Juri under the umbrella, letting out a sigh every now and then.

Finally, they're given their first clue. La Petite Revolutione, a small restaurant in the area; a waitress said Tenjou was known to eat there once a week. "She always ate exactly half of a meal and brought the other home," the dame said. "A small appetite, perhaps, or she owned a pet who preferred fancy chow to puppy chow."

It's not much, but it's still something. The waitress couldn't tell them very much more, but Juri takes it and thanks her.

"Goes to a restaurant and takes home half of her dinner," Juri muses. "She was definitely sneaking the other half home to someone, but who?"

"Someone she loved," Shiori murmurs, "family, a lover, a pet. She never did tell us about her home life." She sighs. "Juri...do you still hate me?" The question knocks Juri off guard, but she keeps walking, trying to pretend she didn't hear it until she's stopped in her tracks. Shiori's clinging to her arm, looking at her with teary, desperate eyes.

"We have work to do," Juri tries to admonish her, but the words come out softer than she intended. "Shiori..."

"Do you still hate me?" Juri isn't sure how to answer that. She did, at first, then it softened into resentment, and then she wasn't sure she had any feelings towards Shiori at all. That had made trying to move on easier, but now that she feels the grip of Shiori's arms around hers, sees those tears in her eyes, hears the raw need in her voice, the feelings are rushing back. Hatred, heartbreak, and...

_Love._

Utena Tenjou is missing, and just may be guilty of arson, murder, and kidnapping. Their task is to find her and bring her in for questioning, hopefully prove her innocence and find the real culprit. Or culprits, since her protegé believes it was a group effort and Juri wonders that, too.

But she can't focus on any of that. Shiori's back in her life after two years, melancholy and morose, afraid she's hated.

"I don't know," Juri finally sighs. "Shiori, we can't-"

"I know I said a lot of hurtful things, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did when I found-"

"No, I shouldn't have let you walk away." Like lightning, it hits her. "Shiori..."

"I'm sorry! I never meant any of it, I was a fool! And I'm selfish, because as much as I hate myself for hurting you, I'm more afraid that _you_ hate me more!"

Two years spent blaming Shiori and seeing herself as the victim, and this is the moment Juri realizes she's partially to blame. Hiding her feelings, unconsciously dropping hints every time Shiori mentioned having a date, expecting Shiori to read her mind, refusing to _communicate._

She'd left the photo on the desk on purpose. How was Shiori _supposed_ to react, knowing her best chum and partner since their girls' school days had been harboring feelings for her all this time? Juri had purposely misconstrued her reaction as prejudice when it was only shock.

In truth, she stopped hating Shiori a long time ago. She never stopped loving her. The photo still sits in her drawer, and she polishes it every day.

Utena Tenjou is missing and they only have a single clue, but Juri knows they'll never be able to put their all into finding her until they settle their personal issues.

She slowly turns to rest her gloved hand on Shiori's cheek, Shiori's tears trickling over her thumb. With a sniffle, Shiori looks up at her again, almost hopeful.

"Juri...?"

"Let's go sit down somewhere warm and dry," Juri says quietly, "and we'll talk."


End file.
